iMake A Mistake
by bananarama92
Summary: Sam and Freddie must live with the consequences of a drunken night.
1. Chapter 1

**Freddie's POV**

"CARLY! SAM! HURRY UP!" I bellowed up the stairs.

"WE'RE COMING!" I heard Carly holler back.

I wondered what the hell girls do that takes them three hours to get ready for a party. I thought about going upstairs to get them, but then quickly dismissed the idea, in case they weren't dressed yet. Not that I minded seeing them undressed, but the thought of the pummelling I would receive from Sam kept me from moving from the couch. I had tried time and time again to explain to them that I had seen them in bikinis, which do not cover any more than a bra and panties do, but my attempts were futile and dismissed as me trying to get them to undress around me. Whatever. I was pulled from my thoughts by Carly coming down the stairs. I looked around at her and stood up. She gave a little twirl to show me her outfit – a red dress and black shoes – and I nodded my approval.

"Where's Sam?" I asked. "We need to get going, like, five minutes ago."

"I'm here, I'm here!" I heard Sam say as she ran down the stairs.

"Finally, what on earth took…" I trailed off when I saw Sam. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a blue shirt that must have belonged to Carly (and been forced on her by Carly) because there was no way Sam would ever buy it (or voluntarily wear it). Her hair was pulled back and she was wearing makeup (which also must have been Carly's doing) that made her eyes look even bluer than normal. She looked…pretty? No. No, this was _Sam _we were talking about. Sam was mean, and vicious, and violent…not qualities one normally associates with _pretty_.

"What are you gawking at, Fredward?" Sam asked with a strange look on her face.

"Uh…nothing. Are you two finally ready?" I asked.

They nodded at me.

"Alrighty then. Let's go" I said, jingling my car keys in my hand.

"SPENCER! WE'RE GOING NOW!" Carly yelled.

I heard Spencer's voice coming from the shower. "OKAY! HAVE FUN!"

The three of us headed out the door. While we were waiting for Carly to lock the door, I snuck another peek at Sam, and I had to laugh when I saw her reach into her tiny, sparkly bag and pull out a piece of ham. She suddenly looked up.

"SHOTGUN!" she screeched. "What are you looking at, nub?" she growled at me, giving me a flick when she walked past me. _Ah _I thought to myself. _Now THERE'S the Sam we know and love. _It comforted me slightly to know that no matter how amazing she looked, she was always the same Sam on the inside. But she did look amazing…

**Sam's POV**

On the way to Wendy's party, I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window and thought. I thought about the look on Freddie's face when he saw me coming downstairs, and again outside the apartment. Maybe the endless mind-numbing afternoon of facials and manicures and pedicures and hair and makeup and clothes that Carly had forced me to endure had paid off. Not that it was for Freddie, of course. I mean, he was a tech dork and I had a boyfriend. But there was something there, no matter how much I tried to deny it or ignore it, ever since we kissed. _Ugh_ I thought to myself. _Here you are looking hot, on your way to an unsupervised party with lots of dark corners and your boyfriend, and you are thinking about FREDDIE? _I looked down at my feet, which were encased in my favourite sneakers. Carly had tried to get me to wear some ridiculous pair of shoes in which I would undoubtedly break my ankle, but I had refused. I was wearing her clothes, her makeup and her hair products, but I wanted there to be at least some part of me that felt like…well, me. I had put my foot down at the heels, and Carly had grudgingly agreed to let me wear my favourite sneakers. They were limited-edition Chucks with paint splattered all over them in neon colours. Freddie had given them to me for Christmas. It kind of bothered me that Freddie knew me so well, and had gotten me the very pair of shoes I had been silently lusting after for months beforehand. Having been staring longingly at them for months, I also knew how expensive they were, and I wasn't sure if I felt bad that Freddie had spent so much money on me, or if it made me feel special. I looked over at Freddie, who was casually tapping on the steering wheel to the beat of the music blasting from the speakers of his truck. As much as I hated to admit it, puberty had really been nice to Freddie. Almost overnight he had grown from a wimpy little kid to a tall, muscular teenager, bypassing the unfortunate gangly, pimply stage that so many of my classmates had suffered through. _His voice never even broke _I thought wistfully. _And I was so looking forward to making fun of him for that. _Somehow, his voice had just gradually deepened, with none of those embarrassing squeaks I was looking forward to so much. As we pulled into the party, all thoughts of Freddie vanished, and I began bouncing excitedly. I loved parties. As soon as the truck was parked I hopped out of the car.

"Come on, dudes, let's roll!" I told Carly and Freddie.

Freddie had parked a little way up the street. "Aw, Fredward, why'd you have to park so far away?" I whined at him.

"I'm sorry, do you not remember what happened last time I parked outside the party?" he asked me, while raising an eyebrow at me.

Oh right. Freddie's car had been the unfortunate victim of party damage. Turns out kids like to sit in the bed of the truck, which had been filled with assorted debris, including cups, bottles and cigarettes. Shaving cream had coated the windshield and one of the windows had been decorated with lipstick. It had taken us hours to clean it. Well, I say us. Carly and Freddie did most of the actual cleaning. I was there for…moral support. We arrived at Wendy's house and walked inside. Lights flashed, music was pounding and people were _everywhere_. In the middle of the throng on the dance floor I saw Gibby tear off his shirt and throw it into the crowd.

"I'm going to find Ryan" I said to Carly and Freddie. I weaved my way through the crowd as I searched for my boyfriend.

**Freddie's POV**

Sam was like a little kid. This thought struck me suddenly and unexpectedly. As I saw her dancing and skipping around the road where I parked, haloed by the streetlights, I thought how childish Sam was. She never hid her feelings. She never used any kind of tact, just told you what she thought straight up. She loved to play and run around outside. She never made things more complicated than they had to be. She was spontaneous and crazy, never thinking of the consequences of her actions. And despite her extremely prickly demeanour, I had always sensed a child-like vulnerability to her that she had just never let anybody see. My musings were interrupted by Sam whining at me and stomping her foot.

"Aw Fredw_aaaa_rd. Why'd you have to park so far aw_aaaaaaaa_y?" she whined.

I laughed inwardly at how she had just cemented my theory and explained my choice of parking spot. No _way_ was my poor truck being subjected to the torture of a party ever again. Sam said nothing, looking ahead of her, and I basked in this victory. Getting the last word with Sam, no matter how insignificant the argument, was always a rarity. We entered the party to flashing lights, throbbing music and a massive crowd of people. Sam quickly left to go find Ryan, ducking and weaving through the gyrating crowd. Carly then disappeared to go find her latest flavour of the month, whatever his name was, and I was left standing alone. Again. I thought about how often I was alone. Usually my mother scared people off, so my only real friends were Carly, Sam and Spencer. Spencer was nearly thirty, so he was usually doing his own thing, and Carly and Sam always had each other. Me, on the other hand… I was alone so often, and I didn't even realize how often until that moment. I was abruptly confronted with the idea of always being alone. I had only ever had two girlfriends – one was only dating me to take advantage of me and try and bring down iCarly, and Carly was only dating me because of what I did. We had agreed to wait until the magnitude of the incident wore off, and then see if she still wanted to date me. I was operating under the assumption that she didn't, since it had been nearly a year and she hadn't come knocking on my door yet. I had a sudden vision of myself as an old man, sitting in a nursing home, surrounded by other old people. The others all had their kids and grandkids all around them, laughing and chatting, and in the middle of all the happy pandemonium, I was alone. I had nobody. The vision nearly brought me to tears. I needed a drink.

**Sam's POV**

I was getting tired of ducking and weaving and manoeuvring my way through the masses of people.

"MOVE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. People turned to look at me and then parted. I walked through the gap in the crowd. I was getting tired of looking for Ryan. I had been searching for nearly twenty minutes, and called and texted him countless times. I was now thirsty, so I headed over to the nearest bar. I picked up the nearest full cup, not caring what was in it, and turned around. I saw Freddie, sitting in a corner on a two-seater sofa, surrounded by empty cups and looking distinctly miserable. I headed over to him.

"Hey, Fredward." I said, sitting next to him. He looked over at me, and I saw his eyes were red. I wasn't sure whether this was due to the drinks or if he had been crying, but I had the distinct impression that it was a bit of both.

"Oh. Hi Sam" he said, slurring slightly. "Did you find Ryan?"

"Nope. I have no idea where he could be. I looked everywhere. Have you seen him?"

Freddie shook his head. "No. Sorry."

"Oh. Okay, well if you see him, tell him I am looking for him" I said. Freddie nodded, and I made to get up, but something stopped me. I sat back down.

"Freddie…" I started slowly. I had never been in this situation before, and I wasn't quite sure how to handle it. "Are you…okay?"

When Freddie didn't answer me, I looked across at him. But instead of looking in his lap, like he had been doing for the duration of our conversation, or even looking at me, he was looking straight ahead. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open. I followed his gaze and I saw Ryan. With his shirt unbuttoned. And his hair messed up. Wearing second-hand lipstick and walking out of a dark room (I think it was a bedroom but I couldn't really see) holding hands with another girl. As I watched, he turned and gave her a long, tongue-y kiss. It was like looking at a car crash. It was awful, but I couldn't look away. My eyes were glued to my boyfriend (_ex_ boyfriend now) and the slut he was currently swapping saliva with.

"Sam…" I heard Freddie say. I looked at him and he was looking at me with a look in his eyes that I couldn't quite define. I saw care, and hurt, and compassion, but there was something else there. Without a word I got up and marched over to Ryan.


	2. Chapter 2

_Feedback is love. Rate, comment, you know how it goes._

**Freddie's POV**

At first I thought I was hallucinating. I wondered vaguely what the hell I had been drinking (and how much I had drunk) that would give me a vision like this. Then I looked at Sam, and I saw that what I was seeing was no hallucination. She was staring at Ryan and the girl he was with, and I was surprised to note the lack of anger on her face. There was hurt, and shock, but no anger. How very unlike Sam. I tentatively said her name, and in doing so, I broke the spell. She looked at me, and I saw the rage make its way into her features. Wordlessly she stood up and walked over to Ryan. I saw her approach him and scream something at him. I couldn't hear what she was saying over the music and the chatter of the crowd, but I knew from the look on her face that Ryan was getting an earful. I saw the girl say something, and Sam rounded on her. The girl shrank back, despite Sam being a good six inches shorter than she was. Ryan yanked on Sam's arm, yelling something at her. She yelled back, then kneed him very hard in the nuts and marched away. She made her way back to me and sat down.

"Sam, are you okay?" I asked her.

She looked at me as though carefully considering her answer

"I need a drink" she announced.

That I understood. I got up a little shakily and walked over to the bar. I was about to pour Sam a drink, then I thought about it and just grabbed the bottle. I don't even know what was in it, but I had been drinking it all night and I felt marginally better, so I figured it couldn't hurt to give Sam some. I walked back over to the couch and handed Sam the bottle before collapsing next to her. She looked at me and then shrugged and opened the bottle, taking a swig. She winced slightly and sank back into the couch. She turned her head to face me.

"I need quiet" she said. "I need to get out of here".

She stood up and then looked down at me.

"Wanna come?" she asked. I was debating the chances of me getting hit if I went somewhere alone with Sam this angry when she sat back down on the edge of the couch next to me.

"Please?" she asked softly. I looked across at her. I wasn't expecting her to be so close to me, and it kind of startled me when I turned my head and saw her face three inches away from mine. She looked so vulnerable and sad that, before I knew it, I was on my feet offering her my hand. She took it and hoisted herself off the couch. I was pretty unstable, so the action made me stumble a little bit, and Sam fell forward slightly. She put out her free hand to steady herself on the nearest object, which happened to be me. Or more specifically, my chest. We stood there for a moment, one of her hands in mine and the other resting lightly on my chest and our eyes locked. Then suddenly, wordlessly, Sam turned and led me by the hand through the crowd.

**Sam's POV**

I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that I had to get out of here. This party, this music, all these people, it all suddenly gave me a pounding headache. I dragged Freddie through the crowd, his big hand warm on mine, our fingers interlocked. I looked around. I had been to Wendy's house before, so I knew where to go to find the door to her backyard. We went outside, which was also filled with people. I cut through the small gate in the fence and ended up on a typical, quiet suburban street. I walked a little way up the street, still holding hands with Freddie, looking for somewhere to sit down. Freddie tugged gently on my hand and pointed at a tree in the backyard of a house three down from Wendy that was vacant and for sale. I looked at him quizzically and he jerked his head upwards, telling me to look up. I did, and I saw a tree house in the tree. It was perfect. I smiled at him and we walked hand in hand towards the tree house. We reached the tree and saw a worn rope with knots tied along it. Freddie gestured up the rope, letting me go first. I let go of his hand, missing it as soon as it was gone, and went up the rope ladder, hoisting myself up bit by bit until I reached the top. I turned around to help Freddie up, but he was already standing behind me, still holding the bottle in one hand. I looked around the tree house. It was empty, with only an empty soda can in one corner. Each wall had a window, a small hole at eye level to let in light. I turned back around and saw Freddie slumped against the wall with his legs spread out in front of him. He caught my eye and patted the floor next to him. I went and sat next to him, taking the bottle he offered me and taking a long gulp. It burned my throat going down, but it felt good. I offered him the bottle, but he shook his head.

"You need it more than I do" he said. "Besides, I think I have had enough already"

I shrugged and took another sip, wincing slightly.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I don't mind sharing"

The better part of a full bottle of alcohol later, Freddie was propped against the wall with his legs spread in a V in front of him, and I was lying with my head on his shoulder. The surroundings were moving slightly, but that was okay. It was all good. Nothing could bother me now. Freddie and I had talked the entire time we were in the tree house. It was the longest we had ever gone without insulting or bodily harming each other. With every gulp of alcohol the conversation grew more honest, and neither of us really knew or cared what we were saying. Right now, though, we were quiet. Then, I felt Freddie's head move.

"Sam?" he asked.

"Mmmm?"

"Are you okay?"

We had been talking for a while, but we had yet to discuss what had happened. I sat up and leaned against the wall. I looked at Freddie and I suddenly noticed what a nice colour brown his eyes were. Warm, almost. I thought about his question. Was I okay?

"You know what? I think I am" I replied. I saw Freddie look at me sceptically. "Well, I'm not 100% okay," I clarified "but considering what just happened, and how I should be…I'm okay"

"Are you sure?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah" I said. "I think I have known for a while that Ryan has been cheating on me. I had no proof, but I just knew. Since I had no proof, I just told myself I was being stupid, but now that I do, I feel almost…relieved. To know that I wasn't just being paranoid. I could be hurting a lot worse right now"

"But you're still hurting" Freddie said.

"Well, yeah" I said. "I just found my boyfriend making out with someone else. But weirdly enough, that's not the worst part"

"Well then, what is it?" asked Freddie.

"Knowing I wasn't good enough for him. He was my first real boyfriend, since I don't think Jonah and Shane qualify as "boyfriends", and I tried to be a good girlfriend, but it wasn't enough. I wasn't enough" I said. I felt my eyes begin to brim with tears, and I didn't care. I didn't care that I was in a tree house alone with Freddie Benson, crying as I told him the secrets nobody knew. I had started now, and there was no stopping. The floodgates had opened and it all came pouring out.

"I gave him everything, Freddie. I gave him all that I could, and it still wasn't enough. I put up with all of his crap, and I let him yell at me for things that weren't my fault, and I let him get away with so much that I shouldn't have, just because I was too scared to stand up to him. I was scared that he would dump me. I was scared to be alone."

"Sam…" Freddie began.

"Is this how it's always going to be, Freddie? Am I always going to attract scum who use me, and treat me like crap and break my heart? Or am I going to end up alone, is that it? Am I never going to have someone to hug me when I have had a crappy day, or take care of me when I'm sick? Am I never going to find anyone to hold my hand when I'm scared and tell me it's going to be okay? Am I going to die by myself, with no kids to come see me or grandkids to spoil rotten? Am I…" I didn't get to finish my sentence, because Freddie leaned over and kissed me gently.

**Freddie's POV**

I couldn't help it. When I heard Sam expressing my own deepest fears with tears in her eyes, I couldn't stop myself. I leaned in and kissed her softly. I felt her hesitate, then kiss me back. I pulled away and opened my eyes. I looked at Sam. I could see tears clinging to her eyelashes, and her makeup was running and her hair was beginning to fall out of the ponytail and her nose was red. She looked beautiful.

"Sam" I began. I took her face gently in my hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "If Ryan couldn't see how amazing you are, then it's his fault. And someday you will find someone. Someone who loves you and sees you for the incredible person you are. And when you do find him, he won't do anything that would cause you pain or risk him losing you, because he will realize that you are the best thing that ever happened to him"

Sam looked at me with an unreadable look in her eyes and then leaned forward and kissed me. This kiss was different, though. The first kiss was gentle and sweet. This kiss was rougher, more passionate. I could feel Sam pouring everything she was feeling into this kiss. I could feel Sam running her fingers through my hair, tickling the nape of my neck. I gently nudged my tongue into her mouth, feeling her give in to me. I felt Sam's small hands on my chest, pulling me closer. I leaned back and she leaned forward until I was lying on the hard wooden floor with Sam on top of me. Suddenly, Sam broke the kiss. She sat up, looking down at me, and slowly took off her shirt.

This was Sam.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sam's POV**

Oh God. That light was really, really bright. My head was pounding and my mouth felt like the Sahara in August. I sat up and then stopped, allowing the wave of nausea that accompanied movement to pass. I looked around and saw that I was in Carly's room. How the hell did I get here? All of last night was a blur. I remember seeing Ryan making out with that girl. The night was coming back slowly in very fuzzy bits and pieces. A bottle, a brown bottle with alcohol in it. Freddie. The tree house.

_OH MY GOD._ I sat bolt upright, ignoring my protesting head and stomach. I didn't. I couldn't have. Not with Freddie. The memory was hazy, but it was there. I leaned back against the headboard of the bed and held my head in my hands. I heard the door open.

"Hey there sleepyhead" I heard Carly say cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

"Huh?"

"Freddie brought you here last night, about ten minutes after I got home. He said you were in pretty bad shape, so I gave you some water and fed you, then put you to bed"

I looked down, noticing that I was wearing Carly's pajamas.

"Did he say anything else?" I asked.

"No. Why, was there something else to say?"

"No" I said quickly. "Just…remind me never to drink again"

"Yeah yeah. Sam, what the hell happened to you? I didn't see you all night, not once! I called you and texted you a billion times, but you didn't answer"

"Uh, yeah, about that… I saw Ryan making out with another girl. Well, I actually think they did more than make out, cause I saw them come out of a bedroom with his shirt unbuttoned and lipstick all over his face… Anyway, I was pretty upset, so I got way too drunk and I don't really remember much after that" I said.

Carly looked at me. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I swear!" I insisted when she looked at me sceptically. "Well, I say alright, but I actually think my head might explode. Or I'll puke all over your bed"

"Go have a shower. You'll feel better" Carly told me.

I slowly made my way off the bed and shuffled to the bathroom. I stood under the hot running water and thought about the previous night. I couldn't believe what I had done. I felt…dirty. Like there was some sort of film on my skin, a film left there by Freddie. I had to get it off. I scrubbed and scrubbed until my skin was raw, but I felt no better. And, standing there in the shower, I began to cry.

**Freddie's POV**

"FREDDIE!"

I rolled over, trying to block out my mother's shrill voice. I didn't know what time it was, but it was too early to be awake. My head throbbed and I had a horrible taste in my mouth. I heard my bedroom door open.

"Freddie!" my mother called again. I groaned and rolled over to back the door. "Freddie, its lunchtime". The very idea of food made me nauseous, but I mumbled a weak "be right there" and waited until my mother shut the door. I lay there looking at the ceiling, replaying the night's events in my head. I couldn't believe what I had done. And who I had done it with. I remembered everything with perfect clarity, and I couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse. I rolled out of bed and waited for the pounding in my head to subside before I walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

I emerged from my room showered and dressed, and feeling slightly better than I did when I woke up. I walked into the kitchen to find my mother ladling some green, revolting looking soup into a bowl. _Ah yes _I thought to myself _her pea and broccoli soup_. Kill me now. I had no idea how I was going to choke down a bowlful of that sludge without puking, especially given the delicate state of my stomach. I sat at the table where my mom was already waiting for me. We began eating, and my mom began chatting about some new anti-tick lotion she had found. I took very small bites and held my breath and somehow managed to eat the bowlful of soup in front of me. As soon as I was finished, I got up and put my bowl in the dishwasher.

"Mom, I'm going by Carly" I told her.

"Alright dear" she said. "Don't be too late"

I headed across the hall and opened the door to the Shay apartment. I walked in, greeting Spencer, who was busy painting a life-size sculpture of a sheep wearing a pirate hat.

"Sup, Freddo?" he said, not looking up from his sculpture. "How are you feeling this fine afternoon?"

"I've…felt better" I admitted. I knew I could be honest with Spencer about my hangover. He wouldn't care.

"Yeah, Sam isn't feeling so great either" he laughed.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Her and Carly are upstairs in the iCarly studio" he told me.

"Okay thanks. See ya Spence"

I walked upstairs to the iCarly studio. I opened the door to find Sam sprawled on one of the bean bag chairs, looking like death incarnate.

"Hey" I said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

Sam just groaned.

"I agree completely. At least you didn't have to eat a bowl of green sludge" I told her.

"Don't, Benson. Do you want me to barf again?"

I looked and saw a trashcan next to her. Poor Sam.

"Sorry. Where's Carly?"

"Bathroom" she said without opening her eyes.

I walked over to her and sat on the beanbag chair next to her. "Sam…" I began.

"No. Don't, Freddie. I don't want to talk about it"

"Okay" I said, secretly relieved. I heard the door open and Carly walked into the studio.

"Hey Freddie" she said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a truck" I replied. "No. I feel worse than that. I _have_ been hit by a truck, and that was better than this"

Carly giggled. "Thank you for bringing Sam home" she said.

"Yeah" Sam said, opening her eyes for the first time since I walked in. "Thanks for helping me". I looked into her eyes and I knew she wasn't just talking about bringing her home.

"No problem. I couldn't just leave you like that" I said, still looking at her. I could see that she understood that I wasn't just talking about bringing her home either.

Carly watched this exchange with a perplexed expression. "Okaaay…"

**Sam's POV**

_Why do we need to take history?_ I wondered. _When will we EVER use it? _I heard the bell ring and I went to pack up my stuff. I heard the teacher tell the class what page the homework was on. I knew I had to do it if I wanted to pass this class, and I had to pass this class or I would be held back. I went to write the homework in my day planner, when I saw something that made all thoughts of homework go flying out my head. I stared at the small red dot next to Tuesday's date. It was now Friday.

I was late.

As soon as the bell rang for the end of school I hightailed it out the doors.

"Sam, where are you going?" asked Freddie. He usually drove me to Bushwell after school with him and Carly.

"I…uh…have to go home" I said. "Talk to you later. Bye!" I ran out the school lot and down the street. I hung a left and I saw the drugstore. I stopped running and walked calmly inside. I ambled around for a bit and then went to the dreaded aisle. I looked around and when I saw that nobody was there, I yanked three pregnancy tests off the shelves and shoved them in my bag. I then went and bought a 2-litre bottle of water. I sat on a bench outside and drank the water. It didn't take long before I really had to pee. I went into the restaurant across the street and asked to use the bathroom. I ran into the bathroom and took the tests. I waited out the time on the pregnancy tests with my eyes squeezed shut, praying the whole time. When I heard the alarm on my phone beep, telling me the tests were ready, I forced myself to wrench open my eyes.

Three big pink plus signs stared back at me.

**Carly's POV**

Where was Sam? Freddie said he saw her after school, running out the doors. He said she gave a quick excuse about going home, and then pelted off in the wrong direction. I tried calling her but her phone must be off, because it went straight to voicemail every time. I heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" I called to Spencer.

I opened the door and saw Sam, drenched from head to toe and looking more forlorn than I had even thought possible.

"Oh my God, Sam? Are you okay?"

And with that, Sam broke down and began to sob.

Fifteen minutes later, Sam was dry and wearing a pair of my dry pajamas and we were sitting on my bed.

"Sam, what's going on? What's wrong?"

Sam looked down, picking at a loose thread in my comforter. She looked like she was trying to find the right words.

"Carls…remember the morning after the party? When you asked me if there was anything else for Freddie to say when he dropped me off?"

"Yeah, why?"

"There was a lot more to say…"

Sam told me what happened that night. All of it. And I sat there in shock and horror as she told me the story, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Sam, how could you? And with _Freddie_?"

"I don't know, Carls. We were both really drunk, and not thinking straight, and vulnerable, and…it just sorta happened"

"I can't believe this"

"Carls…there's more"

"More?"

"I…I think…" she stammered. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said "I think I'm pregnant"

My heart dropped to my knees. _Pregnant? _No. No, Sam couldn't be pregnant. No.

"Are you sure?"

"Ask the pee sticks" she said, throwing three pregnancy tests onto my bed. I stared at the three plus signs in shock.

"Does Freddie know?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Here it is. Chapter 4. Quite a short chapter, but whatever. Thanks for all the comments, guys. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy __ Keep 'em coming!_

**Freddie's POV**

I felt something hit the back of my head. Not unusual – sitting in front of Sam meant that various projectiles were launched at my head on a daily basis. I looked down to see what today's weapon of choice was. A piece of paper. Hmm. A bit of a disappointment after the yogurt debacle of last time. I looked at the paper, and saw writing on it. I waited until Ms. Hill turned her back to the class before I picked it up and opened it.

_Meet me outside the gym after school. Need to talk to you._

That was weird. Sam never needed to talk to me. I thought about my chances of getting beaten if I went. _What have I done now?_ I wondered to myself. Oh well, I figured I would risk it. Sam sounded serious.

After school I walked to the gym, looking for Sam. I saw her sitting on the grass by herself, leaning against the wall of the gym. I walked over and sat next to her.

"What do you want, Sam?" I asked.

"That night…"

"I thought we were never going to talk about it again?" I interrupted.

"I'm pregnant"

**Sam's POV**

"I'm pregnant"

I saw Freddie's face drop for a fraction of a second before he started laughing.

"Yeah right, Puckett. You really had me going there for a sec" he said. His laughter trailed off when he saw my face.

"Wait…are you serious?" he asked, looking scared.

I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the pregnancy tests. I showed it to Freddie, who took it in his hands and stared at the little innocent-looking plus sign.

"Well, maybe this is a false positive" he began. "You should take another…"

He broke off when he saw the two other tests that I pulled from my bag. He looked at the three tests, holding them like a hand of cards.

"So this is for real, huh?"

I nodded at him.

"What are we gonna do?"

"First things first" I told him. "We need to tell our moms"

**Freddie's POV**

"I can't do this" I said.

"Freddie, we have to. We have no choice"

"Sam, you've met my mom! She's gonna kill me! And then you! And then herself!"

"Come on, Freddie. Man up"

Sam took the key from my hand and opened the door.

"Freddie, is that you?" I heard my mom call.

"Yeah" I called back in a shaking voice.

"Come on, Freddie" Sam whispered, taking my hand. Feeling Sam's warm hand in mine gave me the boost I needed to start walking. As I walked into the kitchen where my mom was cooking dinner, Sam dropped my hand. My mom turned around.

"Oh. Hello, Sam" she said, slightly confused. "Why are you here?"

"Mom, we need to talk to you" I said. I gestured at a kitchen chair and my mom sat down. I sat opposite her, with Sam by my side. As soon as we were seated, Sam took my hand in hers again, under the table. I squeezed it gently and she squeezed back.

"Mom… We…Sam…" I said, unsure of how to break the news. Luckily, Sam took over.

"Mrs. Benson, I'm pregnant" she said.

I could see the surprise and confusion on my mom's face. Then, she put two and two together, and her face fell. She looked at me, broken.

"Yours?" she whispered.

I nodded with tears in my eyes, unable to say anything.

Then, as I braced myself for a whole lot of yelling, my mom dropped her head into her hands and began to cry.

Sam and I looked at each other in shock as my mom broke down. I tentatively reached one hand across the table and rested it on my mom's forearm. She grabbed my hand with both of hers and gripped it tightly as she sobbed. As I watched my mother weep, my own tears began to spill over.

"Mom… Mom, I'm so sorry" I choked out.

There was nothing for us to do but wait out the tears. When my mom finally stopped crying and looked up, wiping her eyes, there was an unbearable sadness on her face.

"It's too late for lectures" she said quietly. "So I won't go there. So what are you going to do?" she asked, looking at us.

Sam and I glanced at each other briefly before returning our gaze to my mom.

"We don't know yet" I said. "Step One was 'Tell the Moms'"

"Does Sam's mom know yet?" my mom asked us.

"No, not yet" said Sam.

"Well, I think you should go tell her"

**Sam's POV**

I sat in the front seat of Freddie's truck as we drove in silence to my house.

"I am absolutely astonished at how well she took that" said Freddie.

"I know" I agreed. "Let's hope my mom takes it that well" I said, unable to keep the fear out of my voice. My mom had been known to get violent sometimes. Freddie took one hand off the steering wheel and squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"I'm sure it will be fine" he said consolingly.

We pulled into my driveway, and I felt my hands begin to shake.

"Sam, if I can tell my crazy psycho mother, then you can tell yours" Freddie said.

I nodded, but couldn't make my feet move. Freddie walked around to my side of the truck and took my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. He walked towards the house, tugging gently so I would follow him. I walked slowly a step behind him. We reached the door and Freddie opened it, pulling me inside.

"Mom?" I called down the hall.

"In here, Sam" I heard her call back. It sounded like it came from her bedroom, so I pointed the way to Freddie, who led the way. I knocked softly on her closed bedroom door.

"Mom, I have Freddie with me. Is it okay for him to come in too?" I asked.

"One second….yeah, come on in" she said.

We walked in as my mom was finishing tying the belt of her robe.

"Hi Freddie" she said, looking at me puzzled, and then looking even more puzzled as she saw our interlocked hands.

"Mom, we have something to tell you" I took a deep breath, knowing that I just had to say it and get it over with. "Mom, we're having a baby".

My mother's expression changed from confusion to pure rage.

"You're PREGNANT?" she hollered at me. "YOU LITTLE SLUT!" she screeched as she reached her hand behind her. Before I knew what was happening, a heavy torch light came flying through the air at me. I managed to duck just in time, and I heard the thud of the torch hitting the wall.

"HOW COULD YOU?" she screamed. "YOU…FILTHY….WHORE" she bellowed, throwing a new item at me with each pause. As assorted bedroom items came hurtling towards me, my vision was suddenly obscured by a brown head of hair. Freddie had planted himself in front of me, arms outspread. My mom was still throwing everything she could get her hands on at me and screeching obscenities at me at the top of her lungs. She must have run out of projectiles, because she stormed towards me, shoved Freddie out of the way, and swung at me. Her fist connected with my right eye and I fell backwards. My mom grabbed my arm and yanked me back onto my feet.

"Get out of my house" she said quietly. Her voice was like ice daggers shooting at me. "Get out and don't even think about coming back"

Sobbing, I ran out of the bedroom and down the hall until I reached the front door. I burst outside and sat on the floor of the porch, weeping. A few minutes later, I heard Freddie come through the door. I looked up and I saw him carrying bags and bags full of my stuff, mostly clothes.

"I thought you might need some stuff" he panted as he came through the door. He stopped when he saw me, curled into a ball on the floor, shaking with the intensity of my sobs.

"Oh Sam…" he said. He put the bags on the floor and sat in front of me with his legs spread open, one on either side of me. I looked across and saw him sitting mere inches away from me. He then opened his arms and enveloped me in a hug. I leaned into his chest and cried and cried until I had nothing left in me. And Freddie sat there with his arms wrapped tightly around me, rocking me back and forth and shushing me softly.

When we arrived back at Bushwell I felt…empty. Emotionally drained. Freddie and I carried the bags upstairs, despite his protests that I shouldn't be carrying anything heavy. Freddie unlocked his apartment door.

"Wait here" he told me. He then turned and went inside. I heard him talking to his mom.

"Mom, Sam's mom kicked her out. She has nowhere else to go…" I heard him say.

"Where is she?" I heard Mrs. Benson ask. I can only assume Freddie pointed at the door, because Mrs. Benson appeared in front of me. Before I could say anything she walked straight at me and gave me a huge hug.

"Of course you can stay here, Sam"

I looked up at her.

"Thank you" I whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5, for your reading pleasure. I wasn't originally going to use this, but I am still changing the next chapter around a bit, so I decided to post this one in the meantime. Comment, rate, you know what to do._

**Freddie's POV**

It had been almost three and a half months since Sam moved in with me, and I still wasn't sure if I enjoyed it. Pregnant Sam was hormonal Sam, and hormonal Sam was very prone to violent mood swings. Things in general had gotten a lot more civilized between us, but when she was in a bad mood, I was still her favourite target. She was already beginning to show a little bit, a tiny swelling that was barely noticeable, but still there. We still hadn't decided what we were going to do with the baby. Every time I tried to bring it up, Sam would quickly change the subject. I had managed to find two jobs to make some money, because I knew that even if we decided not to keep the baby, just the pregnancy alone would cost us a lot of money. I would also babysit for the Greenes downstairs if they needed me. It was good money and good practice, and I had discovered that I really liked kids. I had never really been around little kids before (unless you count Stephanie, and she hated me for some unknown reason) and I liked them. The Greenes had two kids, three and four months, and I took to them instantly, and funnily enough, they took to me too. One evening I was babysitting when I heard a knock on the door.

"THERE'S SOMEONE AT THE DOOOOOOOR!" hollered Charlie, the three year old.

"Okay, well stay here while I go get it, okay?" I told him, placing Katie, the baby, in her playpen. "And don't trouble Katie while I'm gone"

I hurried to the door, knowing that Katie was Charlie's favourite toy and he would soon start poking at her, which never ended well. I opened it to find Sam standing there.

"Hey" I said, slightly confused. Last time I checked, Sam wasn't really big on kids. "What are you doing here?"

"Carly and Spencer went out and your mom was driving me insane" Sam said, pushing past me to get inside. "So I figured I would come see what's going on down here"

Just then, I heard Katie begin to wail.

"Crap" I said under my breath. "Can you shut the door, please?" I asked over my shoulder as I headed to the living room, where I had left the kids. I walked in to find Katie screaming, her face red, and Charlie sitting innocently on the floor, playing with blocks. I picked Katie up and began to shush her. Almost immediately she quieted down, snuggling into my shoulder.

"Charlie…" I began sternly. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" he protested. "I just wanted to share my blocks with her and one fell on her head"

I looked in the playpen and sure enough, there was a purple block sitting there where Katie's head had been.

"Okay, well next time why don't you share something softer? And wait till I'm here, okay?"

"Okay" he said.

I sat down on the couch with Katie. Charlie came over and clambered up on the couch next to me. He then leaned forward and very carefully gave Katie a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Sorry Katie" he said in a small voice. He looked up at me expectantly. I smiled at him, and he broke into a huge grin.

"Well done, Charlie" I said. "You can go play now"

As he turned around to get off the couch, Charlie caught sight of Sam, who was standing by the door, watching the scene unfold.

"Who's she?" he asked me.

"That's my friend Sam" I told him. "Can you go say hi?"

Charlie ran over to Sam and latched onto her legs, hugging them tightly.

"Hi Sam!" he said brightly. "You're friends with Freddie?"

Sam nodded at him, looking apprehensively at the small child who was clinging onto her legs.

"I guess you could say that, kiddo"

"So am I!" he said excitedly. "That means we're friends too! Come see my blocks!" he said, taking her hand and pulling her over to where his toys were scattered all over the floor. Katie had settled down and was happily sucking on my shoulder. I sat watching Sam playing with Charlie, looking happier than I had seen her in weeks.

"Come on, Freddie!" called Charlie.

"Yeah, come on, Freddie!" Sam echoed, turning to look at me, her face shining.

"You two play" I said. "I'll watch with Katie". Katie began to squirm and whimper. I looked at my watch and saw that it was time for her to have a bottle and go to bed. I put Katie in the playpen and turned to face Charlie.

"I'm going to get Katie's dinner, okay? Stay here with Sam and don't trouble Katie"

I turned and walked into the kitchen. As I was getting the bottle ready, I heard Katie's wail reach a crescendo. "I know, I know" I muttered under my breath. Then, suddenly, the screeching died down. Confused, I walked back to the living room to see what happened. What I saw nearly took my breath away. Sam was sitting on the couch, cradling Katie in her arms. Charlie was next to her, saying something to Katie. As I watched, Charlie scooted in closer to Sam and snuggled into her arm. Sam looked at him and smiled, then returned her attention to Katie, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Then she leaned over, and gave Katie a kiss on the head. Smiling, I turned and walked back into the kitchen to finish making Katie's bottle.

**Sam's POV**

I had never been a baby person. I always saw them as little nuisances who constantly needed looking after and always seemed to be leaking some kind of bodily fluid, be it snot, or drool or whatever. But when Charlie wrapped himself around my legs, I thought _Huh. Maybe kids aren't so bad after all_. But this was a little boy. He didn't count as a baby.

Then Freddie left to go get the baby a bottle and she started screaming. I mean, really screaming, a piercing shriek that made her face go bright red. I looked at her, and thought about calling for Freddie, but he was getting the rugrat some food, thus making her be quiet. I couldn't just leave the kid crying like that, so I walked over and picked her up. In that moment, something changed. When that baby snuggled into my shoulder, resting her little warm head in the dent by my collarbone, I knew instantly that I was in fact, a baby person. I went and sat on the couch with her, shifting her so that her head was in the crook of my arm and she lay across my lap. Charlie came and sat next to me.

"Look, she isn't crying as much anymore!" he said. "She likes you"

He then turned to Katie and whispered to her, "I like her too, Katie", and then inched closer to me, resting his head on my arm. I smiled at him, and then looked back at Katie, who was looking at me very intently. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment, and then she gave a little sigh and stopped crying completely. Instinctively, I gave her a little kiss on the head.

Freddie then came back in with the bottle and a white cloth.

"Do you wanna feed her, Sam, or do you want me to do it?" he asked me.

"You do it" I said. "I'll go play with Charlie some more. Come on, kiddo" I said, standing up. Charlie leaped off the couch and ran over to the blocks. I handed the baby over to Freddie, who had set the bottle and the cloth on the couch. He took her effortlessly and sat on the couch. He shifted her expertly and then opened the bottle. He gave it to her and she drank eagerly, giving a happy little hum. Charlie yanked on my shirt to get me to sit down and play with him again. While we were playing, I couldn't stop myself from sneaking glances at Freddie as often as I could. He sat on the couch with Katie in his arms and an absentminded smile on his face as they looked at each other. _Freddie would make a great dad_ I thought. Watching him with this little baby, I had never been more sure of anything. It just came naturally to him. And, weirdly, I had never been more attracted to anyone. Katie finished the milk and Freddie sat her up and began rubbing her back. I turned my attention back to the blocks when I heard Freddie talking to the baby in that soft, singsong-y voice that people instinctively use when they talk to babies.

"There's a good girl" he crooned. "Are you a sleepy girl?" I looked around and Freddie was now walking slowly around the couch, with Katie nuzzled into his shoulder. He then looked at me.

"I'm gonna go put her to bed" he told me. "Are you okay with Charlie for a little bit? It shouldn't take long, she seems pretty tired"

I nodded and resumed playing with Charlie while Freddie disappeared around the corner. I don't know how long it was before Freddie appeared around the corner again. He walked over to the coffee table and turned on the baby monitor, and then turned to Charlie.

"Okay, kid" he said. "Your turn. Bedtime."

"But I don't wanna go to bed!" Charlie protested. "I wanna stay and play with Sam"

"We can play another time" I told him. "I promise"

"Come on" Freddie said, taking Charlie's hand and walking away with him. I was kneeling to get up when I heard Charlie come running back over. Before I knew it, he had launched himself at me like a torpedo, wrapping his little arms tightly around my neck. He pulled back and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Night night, Sam" he said.

"Night, kiddo"

_Since nothing much happened in this chapter, I might post Chapter 6 tonight if I finish, depending how nice I feel ;) _


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6, as promised. Thanks for all the nice comments on the last chapter. I like that chapter too, but I was afraid that since there was nothing really happening in it that you guys wouldn't like it. It's nice to know that you won't come hunt me down with your torches and pitchforks. I promise that this chapter is more exciting :D Enjoy! _

**Freddie's POV**

People were beginning to talk. Sam was nearly five months, and it was getting impossible to hide her baby bump. I could see people follow her with their gaze in the halls, and even some of the comments on asked what was going on. I knew we would have to announce it sooner or later, but we had both been kind of preferring the "later" option. The bad news was that later was fast approaching.

"Sam" I said to her one afternoon on the fire escape. "We have to tell people"

"Easy for you to say" she snapped at me. "You aren't the one who is going to get judged and teased and picked on. You aren't the one actually carrying the evidence"

"Sam, if you think for one minute that I am going to deny that this baby is mine, then you clearly don't know me at all" I retorted. "I am going to make it clear that this is _our _kid. If people want to judge, then they will judge both of us. I'm not going to throw you into the lion's den and leave you there, you know. We're going in together"

She looked at me in silence, but I knew that she knew what I was saying was true.

"I think we should do it on iCarly" I said.

She looked at me, and I could see that she agreed with me. As much as we both dreaded the idea of announcing our mistake to hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, we knew that it had to be done.

"The next iCarly is two days away. Do it then?" she suggested. I nodded, and she looked down at her lap, as if she had been secretly hoping I would say no.

"There's something else, Freddie" she said. "What are we going to do with this baby?"

I turned to look at her, trying to conceal my surprise that she brought it up, when she had been avoiding the subject for the past five months.

"I don't know" I said. "What do you think?"

She took a deep breath. "I think we should give it up for adoption"

I closed my eyes. I had been dreading the idea that Sam would want to give up our baby. She saw the look on my face. "Freddie, it doesn't make sense to keep it. We're sixteen. We know nothing about raising a kid. Besides, there's no way we could afford it"

"I have jobs…" I protested half-heartedly

"Freddie, do you really think that we can support a baby on the money you make now? It isn't practical. And think about it. Don't you want to go to college? How can you do that if you have to work two crappy jobs to support this kid?"

"Sam…" I began.

"Don't you see, Freddie?" she interjected. "This baby will ruin our futures"

"Sam, I know all this" I said. "I just…I don't want to abandon this baby the way my dad abandoned me" There. I had said it. Sam looked at me.

"Freddie, this will be different. We aren't just going to up and gone like your dad did" she said gently. "We will find good parents. Parents who will love this baby, and give it everything that it deserves. I don't want this baby to have my life" she said, looking at her lap. "My mom had me at eighteen. She had to drop out of school, and now she has no education, so she can't get a job. We have been scraping by for the last eleven years, and that's why my mom is the way she is. I remember what she was like when my dad was still there" Sam said softly. "She was happy, and we had so much fun together. Then my dad bailed, and left us with no money. And since then…" Sam trailed off, and I looked at her, surprised to see her eyes shining with tears.

"Sam…" I started. The sound of my voice pulled her out of her memories and she looked at me, blinking away the tears.

"Freddie, I can't end up like my mom" she said. "Don't you understand? This baby needs people who can take care of it properly"

I looked at her expectant and hopeful face, willing me to understand, and I nodded.

"Okay" I said. "I'll call and see if we can go to the adoption agency after the appointment"

I had finally made enough money to pay for Sam's first ultrasound. We were going tomorrow morning to the doctor.

"I'm kinda nervous" I admitted. I had no idea why I was nervous, but I was.

"Me too" Sam agreed.

"DINNER!" I heard my mom call. I helped Sam to her feet and we went inside.

**Sam's POV**

My heart was beating at a million miles a minute. Sitting in the waiting room, waiting to go in and have my ultrasound I could feel the eyes of all the other expectant parents boring into me, judging me. Freddie was filling out the paperwork next to me, since my hands were too sweaty to hold the pen. He finished and walked back over to the receptionist's desk, handing the clipboard to the woman behind the desk. He walked back over and took his seat next to me. How could he be so calm? I was fidgeting, bouncing my knee, and twisting my fingers together.

"Sam" Freddie told me. "Relax. You're going to be fine"

I said nothing, just continued bouncing and twisting. After what felt like an eternity, the nurse walked into the waiting room and called our names. I took a deep breath and stood up. Freddie was already on his feet next to me, and the nurse led us into the doctor's office. She put me to sit on the long chair, Freddie standing next to me.

"The doctor will be in shortly" she said, smiling at us. Freddie nodded and thanked her. She left, leaving Freddie and I alone in the room. I was looking down at my belly when I felt something warm on my hand. I looked across and I saw Freddie's hand around mine, our fingers interlocked. Something about this simple gesture calmed me down, and I leaned back in the chair, breathing deeply. I heard the door open and I looked across to see a grey haired man walk in. He was wearing a white coat and he had a kind face. He greeted us.

"Let's get started, shall we?" he suggested, sitting down. I lifted up my shirt, exposing my bare stomach. I saw Freddie staring at it. It was the first time he had seen it and he couldn't take his eyes off of it. The doctor squirted this cold blue gel onto my belly and began rubbing it around with the handheld metal thing I had seen in the movies. I heard the monitor begin to beep.

"That is your baby's heartbeat" the doctor told us, not looking up. Suddenly he stopped moving the metal thing. I looked at the monitor. I saw the baby's head, and its tiny little hand curled into a fist next to its cheek. As I watched, it moved its head slightly, so that I could see its profile. I felt Freddie's grip on my hand tighten. I leaned against him, resting my head on his chest.

"There's your baby" the doctor told us. "Would you like to know the sex?"

I looked up at Freddie and he raised his eyebrows as if to say _It's up to you_. I looked back at the doctor and nodded.

"It's a girl"

**Freddie's POV**

"It's a girl"

My breath caught in my throat as I looked on the monitor. There she was. My daughter. I heard the doctor get up.

"I'll give you two a minute" he said.

I looked down at Sam, who was also staring at the monitor, leaning against me. It felt natural to lean down and kiss her forehead. She squeezed my hand, not taking her eyes off the monitor. Neither of us said anything, and the silence felt perfectly comfortable. We just kept looking at the monitor, at our daughter. The more I looked at her, the more I saw Sam. I knew it was ridiculous, that we couldn't tell who she looked like yet, but the longer I looked at her tiny profile on the screen, the more I saw the curve of Sam's face. The doctor came back in and wiped the goo off of Sam's stomach, and said some things, but I barely noticed any of it. I was in a daze. Seeing her there, on that screen, it was realer than it had even been before. And it scared the crap out of me.

We hadn't been able to get the appointment at the adoption agency until next week, so I drove Sam back to Bushwell. She said nothing for the entire trip, just looked at the photo in her hands. We got upstairs and I unlocked the door. We showed the photo to my mom, and told her that she was having a granddaughter. She wrapped us both in a bone-crushing hug, and then told us to go get Carly and Spencer, cause we were going out to celebrate. It had been such a long time since I had a night out, and we had a really good time. We ate way too much, and talked and laughed all night. For a moment I forgot all about the baby, and about everything that was happening. For a moment, my life was normal again. And I loved it.

I woke up abruptly early the next morning, despite the late night. Today was the day. Today was iCarly, which meant today was the day that Sam and I made the announcement. I knew it had to happen sometime, but I was so nervous. All the teachers at school knew already – my mom had talked to Principal Franklin – but none of the students did. They all had their suspicions, but we hadn't confirmed it.

Till today.

I got out of bed and showered, knowing it was pointless to try and go back to sleep. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw Sam sitting at the table. My mom had already left for work, but I could see that Sam had been awake when she left, since she had cooked Sam breakfast.

"Morning" I greeted Sam. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"No chiz, Fredward. I'm awake, hence, I couldn't sleep"

Ah. It was one of those days. I searched the kitchen for something to eat. The smell of Sam's bacon wafted past me, but I knew better than to ask for some. I settled for toast, throwing two pieces of bread into the toaster. As I shut the fridge, I saw the ultrasound photo that my mom had put on the door with a magnet. I looked at it for a moment before turning away. Sam and I ate in silence.

We spent the day at Carly's house, not really doing anything. Spencer was building a new sculpture, so he was in and out all day as he went looking for pieces. As we whiled away the hours, the thought of iCarly loomed over us like a thundercloud. Carly tried to lighten things up, but after a few attempts she saw that it was useless. Finally, it was time to get ready. We went upstairs, each step feeling like a step to the gallows.

"In five, four, three, two…"

The two girls jumped around to face the camera.

"HOLA!" shouted Carly

"LEDERHOSEN!" shouted Sam

"I'm Carly!"

"And I'm Sam!"

"AND THIS IS iCARLY!"

They did the show as we had rehearsed, and I could see Sam getting more and more nervous as the end of the show approached. Finally, they did the final bit, and Carly came over to take the camera. She squeezed my hand reassuringly before taking the camera and letting me walk over to Sam.

"Okay, guys. We have an announcement to make…"


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7! Thanks for all the nice comments. They make me happy :D. Keep'em coming,doods! Only a few more chapters left now *tear*_

**Sam's POV**

It was worse than I had expected. All day at school I could feel everyone stare at me. Never in my life had I been picked on like this. All day there was a relentless stream of insults directed at me, especially when I was with Freddie. Halfway through the day, I noticed that I had begun to walk around with my hands on my stomach, protecting my baby from all of the horrible comments and occasional missiles. When we were at lunch, sitting at our regular table with Carly, we were all of a sudden bombarded with condoms, being thrown at us from all directions. Freddie just looked down, trying to ignore them. Carly had been amazing all day, defending me and Freddie against anyone who said anything. She stood up and screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to get the downpour of prophylactics to stop, but it was useless.

"Carls, just sit down. It doesn't matter" I said, pulling her back down into her seat.

"Of course it matters!" she said indignantly, picking condoms out of her salad. But she stayed seated, choosing instead to shoot dark looks at everyone around her.

The barrage of insults continued all day, and I had never been happier to hear the final bell. On the way home, none of us said anything. Then, all of a sudden, Carly spoke.

"Do you guys wanna come over tonight? We can just watch movies or something"

I looked at Freddie and then smiled.

"That sounds perfect"

**Freddie's POV**

We went over to Carly's after dinner. We went upstairs to Carly's room, where she had already picked a bunch of movies and put them on the bed. We picked one at random and put it in. Before the main titles could even start, Carly decided that we needed popcorn. She went downstairs to make some, leaving Sam and I alone. Sam turned and put her swollen feet in my lap with a groan.

"Rub my feet, Fredward. They feel like they were run over by a cement truck"

I obeyed, massaging her arches with my thumbs. She gave a little groan of contentment and leaned back against the headboard. Then, all of a sudden, she gave another groan, this time a groan of pain, and put one hand on her stomach.

"Are you okay?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"I'm fine" she said. "The kid's just kicking away. I swear I'm gonna give birth to a ninja. Mama's little girl" she said proudly, before groaning again.

"Can I feel it?" I asked, before I could stop myself. Sam looked at me, and then wordlessly took my hand and placed it on her stomach, pressing down lightly. For a moment I felt nothing, then there it was. I felt the baby kicking right under my hand. I stared in wonder at Sam's stomach, then took my hand away. Before I could say anything Carly returned and we put the movie on. Carly, sitting in the middle, put an impossibly soft blanket over herself and then spread it out to cover Sam and I. Lying there under a blanket with my two best friends, all of us eating popcorn and laughing at a silly movie, I was suddenly struck at how everything could be so perfect, even when it wasn't.

After two movies and way too much popcorn, Sam and I headed home. I called dibs on the bathroom first, since Sam took forever. I walked out of the bathroom showered, teeth brushed and ready for bed and went to Sam's room to tell her the bathroom was free. Just as I was about to barge in, something stopped me. The door was open a crack, and I pushed it open a little more, so that I could stick my head in. Sam was sitting on the bed, lovingly cradling her stomach and singing to our unborn baby, in a soft, impossibly sweet voice, the exact same song my mom used to sing to me when I was a little kid. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

Time seemed to fly by in a flurry of school, iCarly, work (Sam had taken to accompanying me on every babysitting job now, and I was getting the distinct impression that the kids were beginning to like her better than they liked me), doctor's appointments (my mother was taking no chances when it came to her granddaughter, and poor Sam had appointments weekly at various doctors) and meetings at the adoption agency. After many, many meetings, we had finally found the perfect couple to take our baby. They were young, and kind, and desperate for a child. Sam's stomach exploded almost overnight, going from a small bump to an enormous one. She began to waddle everywhere, and couldn't stand up for too long without supporting her lower back with her hands. Everything on her was swollen – her feet, her hands, her face. But the biggest changes in Sam weren't physical. We had thought that the hype would die down, and things would go back to normal at school. We were wrong. Kids still relentlessly teased her and openly judged her, and in just a few short months, Sam had morphed from a vicious, defensive, violent hothead to a quiet, resigned, defeated shell of what she used to be. She walked the halls in silence, looking at the floor and ignoring the barrage of insults that were flung at her by kids who were once too scared to even look at her in fear of being pummelled. Carly and I became her fierce protectors, escorting her everywhere we could and defending her against the other kids. Every time I looked at her I felt an overwhelming sadness for her, and for how she used to be. One day I was at Carly's after school sorting out some technical stuff for iCarly. I had just finished and was coming downstairs when Sam opened the door. She walked in and eased herself onto the couch. She heard me coming down the stairs, and she turned to look at me.

"Oh, hey, Fredward" she said. "Get me some soup. I have been craving soup all day"

I had gotten used to Sam's strange cravings, and was now unsurprised at any requests she made, or the time of day she made them. Frequently she woke me up at one in the morning because she was craving something or other, and I would dutifully go to the twenty four hour market across the street and get it for her. I brought her the soup, and sat down next to her. She turned to put her feet on my lap and then took the soup from me, resting the bowl on her belly like a table. I went to take off Sam's shoes and rub her feet (this too happened so often it now became a routine) when I noticed that she was wearing two different shoes.

"Uh, Sam?" I asked.

"Yeah?" came her reply, muffled through a mouthful of soup.

"Why are you wearing two different shoes?"

She craned her neck to see, and when I saw her twisting her head to try and get a good look, I felt a rush of sadness. Sam couldn't see her own feet. That was why she was wearing two different shoes. I turned to Sam.

"I'm sorry" I blurted.

"Sorry for what?" she asked, looking confused.

I nodded my head towards her stomach.

"This. Everything. It's all my fault" I said.

"Freddie, it isn't…" she began.

"Yes it is!" I cut her off, standing up suddenly. "This is all my fault. It's my fault you are wearing two different shoes, it's my fault your feet hurt, it's my fault your mom kicked you out, it's my fault that kids make fun of you. I'm so sorry" I whispered the last part.

"Freddie, I'm not denying that this is your fault" Sam said. "But it's my fault too. We both made a mistake, not just you. I never thought I would have to explain biology to you, but it takes two people to make a baby. Not one."

"So you aren't mad at me?" I asked. I felt like a little kid who thought he was in trouble.

"Hmm" Sam paused, considering. "Honestly… a little, yeah. But I think I am madder at myself."

**Sam's POV**

Freddie still looked upset. I had gotten the idea that something was bothering him recently, and now I knew what it was. Honestly, I wasn't upset anymore. I had accepted the circumstances of the situation and I was doing the best I could with it. But Freddie, on the other hand…I could see that it still hurt him to see people make fun of me. Not just the kids in school, but strangers on the street. You could see them judge me as they walked past. I had gotten used to it, but not Freddie. I think he felt guilty that this was as much his fault as it was mine, but I was the one that people looked at with contempt. He deserved to be judged just as much as I did, but because he wasn't walking around with the evidence under his shirt, nobody knew that. They didn't give him dirty looks on the street, just me, and in some chivalrous yet masochistic way, it killed him. I tried to think of a way to cheer him up. I suddenly remembered that I had news for him.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you" I said. I nodded at the couch next to me. Freddie sat back down and I put my feet back in his lap. He took off my mismatched shoes (no wonder people had been looking at me particularly funny today) and began to rub my feet. God, he had gotten good at that.

"What?" he asked.

"Paul and Lily called, that's why I was late coming over. They are going to let us name the baby" I said excitedly.

"Really?" Freddie asked. I could see how happy this made him. He wanted to name her, but we had decided that it made no sense, because the adoptive parents would just change her name to whatever they wanted. He didn't know this, but I was a little apprehensive about naming her. I knew that it was going to be difficult to give her up, and I felt that if we named her, it would make it that much harder. It would make it feel more like she was ours, when she wasn't going to be. Not really.

"Mhm" I said, smiling. "They just said not to name her anything nubbish, otherwise they would be forced to change it"

"So we get to name her, as long as they approve?" Freddie clarified. I nodded at him. "Well, that's fair enough"

"So, Fredward. What's it gonna be?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Getting closer to the end now guys :( Again, thanks for all the awesome comments, you make me feel like maybe I'm not such a crappy writer after all haha. _

**Sam's POV**

My due date loomed nearer and nearer. I couldn't believe that it had been nearly nine months. My baby was due in four weeks, and I was getting scared. I wasn't just scared of the birth, though I definitely wasn't looking forward to that. I was also scared that I wouldn't be able to give her up once she was born. When we first decided to give her up for adoption, Freddie had voiced his concerns about this and I just blew him off, scoffing at him. But now, I understood what he meant. And the closer I got to my due date, the farther away I wanted it to be. Because even though she wasn't born yet, I already loved my daughter. I talked to her all the time, and I sang to her, and I read to her, and I played her music. I confided in her, told her all of my hopes for her, my fears, my deepest feelings that I couldn't tell anyone else. I would sit on my bed for hours and just talk to her. Then I would look around at my room, really look at it, and I would get sad. Even though I wasn't going to keep her, a few people had already given me things for her. Baby clothes, toys, books and stuffed animals were slowly taking over my room, and seeing them all accumulated everywhere was a harsh reminder that I was never going to get to see her use them. Paul and Lily had agreed to tell her she was adopted (we didn't care when, we just wanted her to know), and they had also agreed that they would give her our information if she ever wanted to find us. I clung to that like a lifesaver, that feeble hope that one day in the future, I would get to meet my daughter. I imagined what she would look like, what she would be like. I hoped she would be smart, like Freddie. Although, ever since I had become pregnant and things had changed at school, I had started actually doing my homework and actually paying attention in class, and I discovered that it was all easier than I thought, once I actually focussed. Thanks to this baby, I had become a straight A student, and I secretly liked it. Maybe this baby did have a good chance at inheriting some intelligence.

"SAM!"

I was pulled out of my thoughts abruptly as Freddie called me. The baby began to kick and move, making me smile. Whenever she heard Freddie's voice she began squirming. I think she liked it.

"IN HERE!" I hollered back.

I saw Freddie stick his head around the door.

"Time for iCarly" he said. "You ready?"

I nodded, and made to get up. Thanks to my enormous belly, getting up had become a carefully and strategically planned process, especially when I was lying down. I pivoted so that my feet were hanging off the edge of the bed and pushed myself into a sitting position, using momentum to hoist myself up. Freddie saw my problems and walked over, extending his hand. I took it gratefully and he pulled me up.

"Up you get" he said as he helped me up, causing the baby to start shifting again. I instinctively put my hand on my stomach where she was kicking and began to rub it, as if to soothe her. I knew it made no difference, but I did it automatically anyway.

"You okay?"

"Yeah" I said, nodding. "Just the baby starts kicking whenever you talk"

A tender look flashed across Freddie's face.

"She does?"

"Watch" I told him. "Now don't say anything"

I took his hand in mine and I put it on my stomach where the baby had been kicking a few seconds before.

"Okay, now say something"

"What do you want me to…" he began, but he trailed off and his eyes grew wide as he felt the baby start kicking the moment he started talking. As he stopped talking, the kicking died down.

"Well, that's either very good or very bad" he said, looking concerned. This caused the baby to kick again.

"I think it's very good" I whispered, looking up at him and squeezing his hand with mine, which was still resting on his. He looked down at me and then bent his head and kissed me very, very gently.

"FREDDIE! SAM! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?" I heard Carly yell.

Freddie broke the kiss, looking up at the door.

"We better go" he said softly. He opened the door to let me through. I waited on the other side of the door for Freddie, and then took his hand, twining our fingers together. He looked at me, surprise flashing across his face before he smiled, squeezing my hand. We walked to the door to find Carly waiting in the hall. She looked at our hands for a moment, but said nothing and smiled knowingly.

"Come along" she said, leading us into the apartment. We headed upstairs to the studio to start the show.

"In five, four, three, two…"

"I be Carly!"

"And I be Sam!"

"AND THIS BE iCARLY!"

We did the show as planned, and every time Freddie spoke, the baby would start kicking. I would go to put my hand on my stomach, but I tried to keep that stuff to a minimum during the show. Freddie would see my hand twitching whenever he talked and he would smile, and I couldn't help but smile back. The viewers must have thought we were on something but I didn't care. Carly kept looking at us funny, but did the show as we had planned. As soon as the show ended she turned to us.

"Okay, what up with you two?" she asked us. "Are you, like…together?"

Freddie and I looked at each other.

"I guess we are" I admitted.

She looked at me. "Why were you all twitchy during the whole show? And why were you" she turned to Freddie, "all smiley?"

"I wasn't twitching during the _whole_ show" I said. "Just when Freddie talked"

"Well, thanks for the clarification" Carly said sarcastically. "It all makes sense now!"

"It's the baby" I explained. "Whenever Freddie talks she starts kicking"

"Really?" Carly asked, all sarcasm forgotten.

"Yeah" I said. "Observe" I took her hand and put it on my stomach where the baby usually kicked. "Okay, Fredward. Shoot"

He leaned towards my belly and said, with a huge smile on his face, "Hi baby"

Carly's eyes grew wide as she felt the baby start to kick.

"Aaw!" she cooed. "Do you guys wanna hang out here for a while? Spencer was gonna help me put together the ham fairy costume for next week's iCarly, if you guys wanna stay"

"Sure" said Freddie.

We headed downstairs, where Spencer already had various components of the ham fairy costume spread out on the floor.

"Hey Freddie" he said, giving him a high five as he came down the stairs. "Hey Carly" he greeted Carly, who also got a high five. I came down last. "Hey Sam" I gave him a high five and he bent down to my stomach. "Hey little baby person" he said to my stomach, giving it a little high five.

"She says hey" I said, smiling at him. I turned my attention to the costume parts all over the floor. "Whoa" I said. "This is gonna be the coolest ham fairy costume EVER"

We spent the night helping put together the costume. We finally finished, and we sent Carly to put on the whole thing and model it for us. She went to change, and I went to pee. Damn baby pressing on my bladder made me pee every five minutes. When I was in the bathroom I heard a crash outside. I emerged to find Spencer splattered from head to toe in the pink paint we had used to paint the fake ham. Freddie also had some on his face, flecked across the bridge of his nose onto his cheek. I didn't even want to know. But apparently Carly did.

"SPENCER WHAT DID YOU DO?" she called.

"NOTHING" he called back, wiping paint out of his eyes. "I JUST MAY HAVE POSSSIBLY GOT PAINT ALL OVER ME"

She appeared downstairs in her ham fairy costume. It was great, a tutu with glitter all over the fluffy skirt and fake ham stuck in a mosaic all over the top. She wore a tiara made of fake bacon, shoes with fake ham on them and a wand made of fake bacon and topped with a pig's head. I have to admit, I got hungry just looking at her. She gave a little twirl and we all clapped. Then I felt liquid running down my leg. _What the…?_ I asked myself. _I just peed, like two minutes ago! _Then I realized what was going on.

"Uh, guys? We have a situation here…"

_OOH! CLIFFY! Sorry about that guys, but I will update tomorrow. And the next chapter is really long, so maybe that will make up for it._


	9. Chapter 9

_Nice long chapter for you guys. One more after this :(_

**Freddie's POV**

"Uh, guys? We have a situation here..."  
I whipped around at the sound of Sam's panicked voice and I saw her standing in a pool of liquid looking terrified. I froze as I realized what was going on. It was Carly who spoke first.

"Sam, what's – oh my God, we have to get you to the hospital!" she cried once she realized what had happened. "Freddie, she has a bag or something, right?"

I nodded, still dumbstruck.

"Well don't just stand there! Go get it!" she ordered me impatiently. I still couldn't move, as if my feet were glued to the floor. Spencer gave me a little push towards the door, which was all I needed to break into a full run. "And wake up your mom!" she called after me as I headed out the door.

I burst through the door, running as fast as I could towards Sam's room.

"MOM!" I called as I ran into Sam's room. I started rummaging around wildly for Sam's bag. Thank God my mom had nagged Sam into packing it early."MOM!" I screamed again, the panic clearly audible in my voice. My mom appeared in the doorway in her nightgown, bleary eyed and with very rumpled hair.

"Freddie, what's going…" she broke off when she saw me straighten with Sam's bag in my hand and a manic look in my eyes. "Now?" she asked me.

"Yes now!" I hollered over my shoulder, already halfway down the hall to the front door. My mom grabbed the first shoes she could find, which happened to be my rain boots, and followed me out. We pelted into the Shay apartment to find Sam sitting on the couch, breathing heavily, her face contorted in pain. Carly sat next to her, holding her hand and Spencer was on the phone, leaving a message for Paul and Lily.

"There you are!" Carly said. "Let's go!"

I thrust the bag into my mom's arms and grabbed one of Sam's arms. Carly grabbed the other and we pulled her up. Neither of us let go as we headed for the door, gripping her hands tightly. We all piled into Spencer's SUV and drove at highly illegal speeds to the hospital. Once we got there we all went inside as fast as we could with Sam, whose contractions were getting closer. Every thirteen minutes she would double over, clutching at her stomach and gasping. We burst through the doors, ignoring the strange looks we got from the other people in the reception.

"GET HER A WHEELCHAIR!" my mother shrieked at the nearest nurse, causing her to drop her clipboard in fright.

"Ye-yes ma'am" she stammered, picking up her clipboard. "One mome-"

"NOOOOOW!" Sam bellowed at her.

The nurse gave a little squeak and promptly dropped her clipboard again. I gave a "gah!" of frustration and grabbed the nearest wheelchair, helping Sam lower herself into it. My mom took over from there, filling out all the required paperwork and even getting Sam into a private room. I went in with her, and everybody else waited outside in the waiting room. She lay there on the bed in her hospital gown looking so much like a little girl. I thought back to that night of the party, the night this all began. I remembered my musings that Sam was so much like a little kid. I realized suddenly how much she had grown up in the past nine months. I wondered if she would ever go back to the old Sam, or if the old Sam had been permanently replaced. Suddenly, Sam bent over again, gasping. I took her hand and she squeezed it. Hard. I swore she was about to break my fingers, but I knew better than to complain. No matter how much Sam had changed, I knew that if I complained about my fingers hurting while Sam was in labour, there was enough of the old Sam left to severely injure me. So I kept my mouth shut, wincing and giving a small sigh of relief when the contraction passed and she loosened her death grip. I had no idea what to say, so I simply brushed her hair off of her sweaty forehead. The next contraction came very soon, causing Sam to resume her tight grip on my poor hand. She gasped for breath.

"Sam, it's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay" I said.

She whipped her head around with a murderous look on her face.

"You did this to me" she growled. "GET OUT!"

I thought about protesting, but then I saw the look on her face and I turned on my heel and all but ran out the door. As I was about to leave, I was nearly ploughed down by Sam's mom, who came barrelling through the door. I stared at her in shock, but she merely marched past me. I turned to look at Sam, whose eyes had grown wide when she saw her mom. She visibly flinched when her mom came up to the side of the bed, but her mom simply took her hand.

"I'm here, sweetie" she told her. "It's gonna be okay"

The past forgotten, Sam gave her mom a huge hug and began to sob.

"I'm sorry mom" she cried. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't even" said her mom. "I'm sorry, those things I said…" I could see that Sam's mom also had tears in her eyes, but she knew that one of them had to be strong, and it wasn't going to be Sam. As Sam's next contraction came, she doubled over and her mom gripped her hand and stroked her hair.

"It's gonna be okay, baby" she said.

Before Sam could notice me, I turned and walked out of the delivery room.

**Sam's POV**

Good God, that hurt. I wasn't used to being in pain, I was usually the one delivering the pain, not receiving it. I felt Freddie's hand on mine and I instantly clutched at it as hard as I could. I could see Freddie wincing out of the corner of my eye, but frankly, I didn't care right now. The contraction passed and I leaned back, panting. Freddie pushed my hair off of my forehead, where it was stuck because of all the sweat. Far too soon, the next contraction came and I once again gripped Freddie's hand.

"Sam, it's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay" I heard him say. For some reason, I blame the hormones, this made me really angry. _Easy for him to say _I thought angrily. _He isn't the one who has to give birth to a seven pound kid! _I turned to face him.

"You did this to me"

I could see the panic flash across his face.

"GET OUT!" I yelled at him. He turned around and fled towards the door. I closed my eyes in relief as the contraction passed. Now that I wasn't in such excruciating pain, I wanted Freddie back. This was his baby too, and he deserved to be here if he wanted to be. As I looked up to call him back, I saw my mom striding towards me. I froze in panic. _What the hell is she doing here?_ I wondered frantically. _How did she know I was here?_ As she marched up right beside me, I flinched, anticipating a slap in the face. Instead, my mom took my hand.

"I'm here, sweetie. It's gonna be okay"

At those words, I dissolved into tears and gave my mom a hug. I hugged her tighter than I had ever hugged her before, trying to convey what I was feeling. As my mom hugged me back, I started to cry. This was what I needed right now. I needed my mom.

"I'm sorry, mom" I wept. "I'm so sorry…" I trailed off, unable to speak anymore.

"Don't even" my mom said. "I'm sorry, those things I said…" she also trailed off, but it was okay. She didn't need to say anymore. Before I could tell her that, I felt another contraction coming. I held her hand tightly and she stroked my hair like she used to do when I was a little kid.

"It's gonna be okay baby" she soothed me. Once the contraction had passed I turned to her.

"Mom?" I asked. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything" she said.

"Can you go tell Freddie that if he wants to come in, he can? If he doesn't want to, that's fine, but…" I stopped talking, since my mom had already marched to the door, all business. In seconds, she returned, followed by Freddie.

"Of course I want to be here" he said to me, in the same tone he used to explain really simple things to Charlie. "This is _my _kid"

I smiled at him and held out my hand to him, the hand that my mom didn't already have. He took it and squeezed gently.

"_Our _kid"

"Push, Sam!" the nurse instructed me. I could hear Freddie and my mom talking, but I couldn't tell what they were saying. All I was focussed on was pushing.

"Okay, Sam. The head and shoulders are out" the nurse told me. "One more big push"

I gave one more big push, screaming out loud with the effort. Then…it was over. One minute she was inside my belly and the next she was in the nurse's arms. The nurse began to walk away with her.

"Hey, where are you going with my baby?" I called after her weakly.

"She's just going to clean her, Sam" my mother cajoled me.

"Yeah" chimed in Freddie. "Get off all the blood and guts"

I gave him a weak shove and a smile. Then I saw the nurse bring her back over, wrapped in a blanket.

"I'm going to go outside and tell everyone its over" my mom said, leaving me and Freddie alone. The nurse handed over the screeching baby. She was perfect. I held her, unable to believe that this tiny scrap of humanity was my daughter. She looked just like Freddie. She had a head of dark hair, and Freddie's nose, and Freddie's ears. She stopped crying and opened her eyes. They were bright blue. My eyes. I looked at her and she looked at me and I started to cry, grinning broadly through my tears. I stroked her tiny face, and when I spoke, my voice trembled.

"Hey there, baby Emma. Welcome to the world"

**Freddie's POV**

I barely noticed Sam's mom leaving the delivery room. All I saw was the tiny baby the nurse had. She brought her over and put her in Sam's arms. Sam looked down at her, happier than I had ever seen her. She began to cry, silent tears streaming down her face and she stroked our daughter's face gently.

"Hey there, baby Emma. Welcome to the world" she said softly. At the sound of her voice, Emma opened her eyes and looked at Sam. She had Sam's eyes, beautiful blue eyes.

"She's perfect, Sam" I said, surprised that my voice was cracking a little. I hadn't noticed I was crying. Sam looked up at me, radiant and I leaned down and kissed her. After a few seconds, Emma started crying again. Sam broke the kiss and chuckled.

"Sorry, kiddo. I know it's gross to watch your parents make out"

I laughed with her, and then leaned over again. This time I gave baby Emma a kiss on the forehead. I looked at Sam.

"Can I…uh…can I hold her?" I asked.

"Dude, are you kidding? She is your kid too, you know" Sam said. She sat up and carefully handed over the tiny baby. I took her gingerly, afraid to drop her or break her or hurt her in any way. I looked at her tiny body – her tiny hands, her tiny fingernails, her tiny nose. I looked at her long, dark eyelashes, which brushed her cheeks. She gave a contented little sigh and snuggled into the crook of my arm. Just then I heard the door open. I looked up and saw Carly, Spencer, Sam's mom and my mom walk in quietly. They all tiptoed over and I lowered my arms, showing off my daughter proudly. They all cooed and 'aaw'ed at her. Both my mom and Sam's mom held her, passing her ever so carefully from one to the other. As Sam's mom took her, I heard Sam speak.

"Oh yeah" she said, suddenly remembering something. "Mom, how did you know I was here?"

"Carly called me" Sam's mom replied quietly, not taking her eyes off of Emma.

We both turned to look at Carly, who shrugged.

"I figured you needed your mom" she said simply.

Sam's mom then gave her back to me. I turned to Carly.

"Do you wanna hold her?" I asked, proffering the baby.

"Oh. I, uh, I don't wanna drop her" Carly said, looking terrified at the very prospect.

"Are you sure? It's really easy" I said.

Carly nodded. Then she looked again at the baby, and held out her arms. I carefully placed the baby in them and Carly awkwardly took her, looking at her perfect little face.

"She looks just like you, Freddie" she said, looking up at me.

I smiled, secretly thrilled by this fact. She then held out the baby to me again.

"Okay, I'm too nervous" she said as I took Emma again. I was getting good at it.

I held her out to Spencer.

"Want a turn, Spence?"

"Shoosh yeah!" he said, eagerly outstretching his arms. I saw my mother tense at the prospect of Spencer holding her delicate, fragile little granddaughter, but Spencer took Emma effortlessly into his arms, holding her like an expert.

"Wow, Spence" I heard Sam say. "You're pretty good at that"

"Yeah, well, I had a lot of practice" he said, nudging Carly with his elbow. He then walked over and gave the baby back to Sam, who took her eagerly, as though she had been holding her breath and this little baby supplied her with oxygen. I looked around the delivery room. I saw Sam, in her hospital gown. I saw Sam's mom, in a ratty, torn T-shirt and sweatpants. I saw my mom, in her nightgown and my too-big rain boots, her hair still all messed up. I saw Carly, still wearing her ham fairy outfit. I saw Spencer, covered in now dry pink paint. And I saw my tiny little daughter, sleeping peacefully. _This is my family_ I thought. And looking around at each person, I wouldn't have it any other way.


	10. Chapter 10

_Last one, guys :( Thanks for all the nice reviews, they truly and honestly make my day. I might write another story, I dunno. Depends on whether or not inspiration strikes haha. I'm still not sure about this chapter, I re-wrote the ending like, four times. Oh well, I hope you like it._

**Sam's POV**

I spent the night at the hospital. Freddie stayed too, although I tried to get him to leave. I was exhausted, and I slept like I hadn't slept in years. When I woke up, the sun was streaming through the window, illuminating Freddie, who was sitting in the corner, just looking at Emma, who was sleeping.

"Hey" I said, my voice still groggy from sleep.

He looked up at the sound of my voice and then smiled.

"Good morning, mama" he said, walking over to the bed. He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby" I said. Freddie laughed.

"Maybe another baby, but not that baby" he said, nodding his head to the corner where Emma was beginning to stir. "She was up every couple of hours"

"Did you sleep at all?" I asked him. He shook his head sheepishly. I was about to scold him when the door opened. I looked over and saw Paul and Lily poke their heads around the door. Paul was holding a huge bouquet of flowers.

"Hey" they said, walking in. They gave me the flowers, which I put on the table next to the bed, thanking them. Paul shook Freddie's hand and then Lily smothered him in a hug.

"Where is she?" Lily asked. Freddie pointed to the corner, and Paul and Lily walked over slowly. Freddie resumed his position next to the bed and held my hand. Lily reached down and picked up Emma, who had begun to whimper. I saw silent tears stream down her face. She leaned down and gave Emma a soft kiss on the forehead. She then turned and gave Paul a quick kiss.

"Hi baby" she whispered.

I leaned into Freddie's side. He looked down at me and I looked up at him. We smiled at each other and he dropped a kiss on my head. We knew we had made the right decision. It was going to be hard to say goodbye to her, but we knew that the pure happiness on Paul and Lily's faces made it all worth it.

The next day we were all standing outside the hospital, saying goodbye to baby Emma. We all held her one last time – me, Freddie, Carly, Spencer, Freddie's mom, my mom. We then handed her over to Paul, who took her gently.

"Okay, we better get going" he said. I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes but I blinked them away. Freddie saw and he slipped his arm around my waist. I leaned into him, my head perfectly fitting into the indentation in his shoulder.

"Wait" Freddie said. "We have something for her"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, which I knew contained the letters we had written to Emma.

"When she finds out about us… can you give this to her?" he asked, giving the envelope to Lily.

"Of course" she said, taking the envelope and putting it into her bag.

"I think we'll head home now" said my mom, marching everyone away. She turned to Freddie.

"Can you bring Sam home?" she asked him. He looked at me and I nodded.

"Sure" he said. As the others walked away, Freddie and I turned to say our last goodbyes to Emma.

"Bye, baby" I whispered, the tears now spilling over. "I'll miss you" I gave her one last kiss, and then it was Freddie's turn. He bent over and also gave her one last kiss.

"I love you, baby Emma" he said, so softly I almost didn't hear it. He then walked back to where I was standing and put his arm back around my waist. I put my head back on his shoulder. We watched together in silence as Paul and Lily walked away. When they were out of sight, Freddie let go and I stood upright. We began to walk back to the car hand in hand. We both knew that nothing would be the same, even with the baby gone, but that was okay. Maybe it was even better than okay. I thought suddenly of the end of _Juno_, one of my favourite movies. _I know people are supposed to fall in love before they reproduce, _I recited to myself, _but I guess normalcy isn't really our style. _I suddenly thought that maybe it was better that way. Maybe when two people fall in love after they reproduce, it's better. We weren't in love before we reproduced, we weren't even together. And despite that, Freddie didn't bail on me. He didn't have to stick around. He could have left me to go through that by myself, saying that the baby wasn't his. But he didn't. And because of that, I knew now that he would always be there, even when things got hard, because how much harder could they get than this? I knew we could survive anything. I smiled to myself at this thought. Nine months ago, I would have beat the crap out of myself for even thinking that. Now, there was nothing that could make me happier. Maybe that was the reason for this baby. I turned around and saw Paul and Lily's car disappear around the corner. I silently thanked Emma for making me realize that the tech dork was the one for me.

"You okay?" I heard Freddie ask. I turned to face him and I smiled.

"You betcha, Fredward. Come on"

We reached Freddie's truck, which Spencer had driven to the hospital that morning for him. Freddie started the car and we pulled out of the hospital and onto the highway. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the wind was whipping through my hair and there was a really good song on the radio. I closed my eyes and smiled, leaning my head against the car door. I felt free.

**Freddie's POV**

I looked over at Sam, who was leaning against the side of the car, the sun illuminating her face and her blond curls being blown haphazardly all around her. She closed her eyes, gave a little sigh of contentment and began to smile. She looked radiant and beautiful and perfect, and I couldn't believe she was all mine. I felt the sudden need to touch her, to reassure myself that she was real and that this wasn't all a crazy, twisted dream. Her small hands were resting in her lap, and I reached over and took one of them gently. I was looking ahead at the road, but out of the corner of my eye I saw her open her eyes and look down at our hands, and then she smiled. She began to play with my fingers, twirling them and twisting them lightly in her hand. Suddenly she leaned forward and turned up the radio as high as it could go.

"I love this song!" she shouted over the guitar riff blasting from the speakers. She began to dance in her seat, thrashing her body and waving her arms everywhere, her hair flying. She sang along at the top of her lungs in a clear, sweet voice.

"Come on, Fredward, belt it!" she shouted at me. I knew that any attempt to explain that I had to focus on the road would be scoffed at, so I admitted defeat and began to sing along as well. When the song was over, she turned the radio back down, laughing and out of breath.

"Turn here, Fredward" she instructed me suddenly. I obeyed without question.

"Uh, why?" I asked.

"Because I haven't had ham in two days, which is two days too many, so you're going to buy me some" she said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Some things never change.


End file.
